Account of Romney's Bain departure has evolved

It was not until 2002 that Romney finalized a severance agreement with Bain, a 10-year deal with undisclosed terms that was retroactive to 1999.

Romney’s own words, along with other documentary evidence, appear to challenge his campaign’s assertion in a recent financial disclosure that Romney had “retired” from Bain in 1999 and “since February 11, 1999, Mr. Romney has not had any active role with any Bain Capital entity and has not been involved in the operations of any Bain Capital entity in any way.”

Financial disclosure forms Romney filed in Massachusetts indicate he earned at least $100,000 as a Bain “executive” in 2001 and 2002, separate from investment earnings.

In addition, Bloomberg news service reported Friday, Romney is named as one of two managing members of Bain Capital Investors LLC in annual reports filed in Massachusetts as late as 2002, “adding a new corporate entity to a growing number of Bain-related investments and funds that list the Republican presidential candidate as controlling the company three years after he said he left it.”Continued...

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Romney also testified that “there were a number of social trips and business trips that brought [him] back to Massachusetts, board meetings” while he was running the Olympics. He added that he remained on the boards of several companies, including the Lifelike Co., in which Bain Capital held a stake until 2001.

Romney’s lawyer at the hearing said that Romney’s work in the private sector continued unbroken while he ran the Olympics.

Romney is named as one of two managing members of Bain Capital Investors LLC in annual reports filed in Massachusetts as late as 2002, adding a new corporate entity to a growing number of Bain-related investments and funds that list the Republican presidential candidate as controlling the company three years after he said he left it.

Separate documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, reviewed by Bloomberg News, also show Romney in 2000 as the sole stockholder of Bain Capital Investors Inc.

Romney, 65, is worth as much as $250 million, according to financial documents his campaign has released.

Bain said in a statement this week that it took a while to transfer ownership to Romney’s successors “due to the sudden nature” of his decision to run the Olympics. Until the ownership situation was resolved, Romney continued to be listed as the sole stockholder and in various executive positions in SEC filings, the company said.

GOV. ROMNEY: Well I'm not sure which ones you're talking about, but I can tell you the people who have looked at the charges that the Obama campaign comes out with, which is that somehow we outsourced jobs, they've said that those were false and misleading. That the ads are inaccurate. Some have given it multiple Pinocchios. The president keeps on trying to divert any attention he can from his failure to turn around the American economy, and that's what this campaign's about. But the president keeps on trying to find something about Bain which is simply not true. And I left Bain in February of 1999. People can point out how - I was in Salt Lake City for three straight years. I don't recall even coming back once to go to a Bain or management meeting. We were, I was out there running the Olympics and it was a full time job, I can tell you that.

ROMNEY: I had no association with the management of Bain Capitol after February of 1999. That is when I left the firm. I am very pleased with the experience I had with the firm but as everyone knows I went on to run the Olympics for three years I was there full time after that I came back and ran in Massachusetts for governor. I had no role with regards to Bain Capital after February 1999.

Mitt Romney's Own 2002 Testimony Undermines Bain Departure Claim ¬snip¬
Romney has consistently insisted that he was too busy organizing the 2002 Winter Olympics to take part in Bain business between 1999 and that event. But in the testimony, which was provided to The Huffington Post, Romney noted that he regularly traveled back to Massachusetts. "[T]here were a number of social trips and business trips that brought me back to Massachusetts, board meetings, Thanksgiving and so forth," he said.

Romney's sworn testimony was given as part of a hearing to determine whether he had sufficient residency status in Massachusetts to run for governor.

Romney testified that he "remained on the board of the Staples Corporation and Marriott International, the LifeLike Corporation" at the time.

Yet in the Aug. 12, 2011, federal disclosure form filed as part of his presidential bid, he said, "Mr. Romney retired from Bain Capital on February 11, 1999 to head the Salt Lake Organizing Committee. Since February 11, 1999, Mr. Romney has not had any active role with any Bain Capital entity and has not been involved in the operations of any Bain Capital entity in any way."
more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/12/mitt-romney-bain-departure_n_1669006.html?ir=Politics

31. You have all the duties you'd have in retirement.

You're fired when you're 61 years old. You sure your boss, claiming that he fired you illegally. It takes 5 years to adjudicate. When you're reinstated, you're 66 years old.

You don't go back to work. You haven't been there 5 years, and you're 66--it's a silly idea. Instead, the court reinstates you retroactively so it's as if you never retired; you retire, with full benefits, as of age 65. But you're 66. You get 4 years' pay and 1 year's retirement benefits.

Does it mean you've gone back and done the 4 years' work? No. In fact, had you been working there and had you been collecting pay, the judge's decision would make no sense. The decision and award only makes sense if you *weren't* there.

(In my experience, we tried to revoke our CEO/director's contract. He challenged our action in court and his status was changed to "involuntary leave." He was still officially CEO, just barred from the building and doing squat. 17 months later his contract expired and he found another job, saying he voluntarily left after 30 years' service. A year or two later, as part of a court settlement, history was rewritten. We'd both agreed that he needed to be on compassion leave for his wife's sake, and he retired at the end of his contract with full benefits and 30 years' service. It was legal fiction, but that status fit the facts well enough. He did no work; his wife was sick; he was on leave; and after 30 years' service his contract wasn't renewed. Again, it crucially involved his not being involved in actively managing the organization. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been on leave.)

11. Did the Globe see the document Jennifer Granholm had on Current?

the ones that list him as taking a "part time leave of absence" and the ones where he was clearly involved in Board meetings during that time?

Thank you to the Boston Globe for having the spine to be real journalists. I'm not saying this because they are exposing the republican candidate, but because I'm sickened by the NYT and CNN claiming that Romney is being "swiftboated." My god... the Boston Globe seems to understand the difference.

14. Stericycle

15. Et tu, Ann?

In a November 2000 interview with the Globe, Romney’s wife, Ann, said he had been forced to lessen, but not end entirely, his involvement with Bain Capital.

(2) Interviews with Romney's wife and his lawyer regarding this period:
In a Boston Globe interview with Ann Romney from November 2000 the reporter learned
that Mitt Romney was dividing his time between running Bain and running the Olympics
project. “The (Olympics) project is running smoothly now, though still requiring so much
of Mitt Romney's time that he has had to lessen his involvement with Bain Capital, his
investment firm." (“West Wings Sprout,” Boston Globe 11/11/2000). Please note: not
end his involvement with Bain, but "lessen it"-precisely as Romney acknowledged in
shifting to part-time management involvement in l999.

Romney’s own personal lawyer as stated that he only became a passive investor in Bain
in August of 2001: “(Bradley) Malt, who was designated by the campaign to address
Romney’s time at Bain, said Romney finally resigned and reduced his role at the
company to that of a passive investor in 2001 when it became clear that he was going
to run for Massachusetts governor after the Olympics.” (“Cash, Advice on Tap at
Romney’s Old Firm” Washington Post 10/21/2007)

18. thanks for the post!

20. Its not just his title as CEO

Its the fact that on the SEC forms he listed his "principal occupation" as managing director of Bain. Either that's true and he's lied about his ongoing relationship with Bain, or its not true and he signed and filed, under penalty of law, a false statement with the SEC.

30. This deserves its own thread, MV! nt

21. I wonder if Romney's post 1999 time at Bain was, to him, like padding his resume.....

Which is to say, I wonder if he got the executive title and money during those two years, but didn't really do anything--like if your uncle puts you on the books as an employee for his company, and you get token pay, but don't do anything. Later on, you can say in your resume you worked for your uncle's company, but you didn't really.

I wonder if that's what happened with Mitt in those two years. Maybe he didn't actually do anything, he was just given a token spot. Which is why he thinks he can now say he quit in 1999. Because to him, he did. Those extra years were for his Presidential resume. But finding that they actually hurt his chances, he's now disavowing them. Unfortunately, they are on the resume.

Of course, if I'm right, then this also undermines him saying that any executive/CEO knows what his company is doing and is involved in doing it. Poor Mitt. Anyway he spins it, he can't have it both ways.

25. no. The Olympics were to bolster his resume and name recognition.

He founded Bain and held those positions for years. He didn't need those titles to pad his resume: he needed them to retain control and suck up more money.

He pretended to leave those positions to bolster his campaign to be governor of Mass. He'd been creamed by Kennedy in the past due to ads about his outsourcing and job losses. Shannon O'Brien started hitting him on outsourcing again, only this time he countered with ads claiming the outsourcing took place after he retired Bain in 1999. And in 2002 he retroactively retired to support his claim.

He expected that strategy to work again, but Obama's team obviously were aware and had the means, time and access to dig deeper. They suckered him in with their initial attacks on outsourcing, then outflanked him with the contradictory FEC/SEC filings.

Then they cornered him totally with the demand that he show his taxes like previous candidates have done for many years. A demand now being taken up by some of the GOP as they try to distance themselves from him.

He either lied to the SEC or lied to the FEC. If he shows his taxes, he proves who he lied to and shows whether he committed a felony. And also happens to show his income, his offshore accounts and businesses, and how very little tax he paid before 2010. If any.

26. Get a bain, Morman.

24. Dear Mittens, Here are 4 apologies for you:

Corporations many times your size have experienced "sudden" losses of their founders, Board Chairpersons, and CEOs, to unexpected illness, death, jail, etc. yet have managed to name interim heads in far less than 3 years.

The USA is far, far larger and more complex than any single industry, never mind corporation. Yet when JFK was assassinated, a new President was sworn in same day.

I'm sorry you are so inept that your sudden decision to take a leave of absence left Bain unable to assign an interim replacement until you returned from your 3 year leave of absence so you could retroactively retire.

And I'm sorry that you were so confused about your status that you informed the SEC that you continued to hold the positions of sole shareholder, CEO and President of Bain, while simultaneously advising the FEC that to the best of your knowledge you had no involvement in Bain.

And I'm truly sorry to inform you that confusion is not a defense against a felony.

And finally, I'm very sorry to inform you that the above suggests you are really and truly not qualified to hold the Office of Dogcatcher, never mind the Presidency of the US.

27. This is delicious

Romney will never get out from under this. These allegations and continued ads from Obama will keep him on his heels. Unfortunatey, I believe the GOP will definitely hold the debt ceiling hostage as this will be the only time for them to change the debate terms.

32. HA! Severance agreement 'retroactive to 1999!'

He's using 'legal wiggle words' to assert 'truthfully' that he had 'retired from Bain in 1999!'
I'm a lawyer so I'm not mocking legal language, just his 'expectation' that his fancy footwork will go over well with the 'public.'